Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The king's reception room
The king's reception room , to the right of the entrance hall, is full of huge Gauguinesque
canvases portraying what appears to be “a day in the life of old Luang Prabang”, with scenes
of the city as it appeared in the early twentieth century. The paintings, executed by Alex de
Fautereau in 1930, are meant to be viewed at different hours of the day when the light from
outside is supposed to illuminate the panels depicting the corresponding time of day.
The Throne Hall
More impressive is the Throne Hall , just beyond the entry hall. Its high walls spangled
with mosaics of multicoloured mirrors set in a crimson background, the hall dazzles even
in the dim light. These mosaics, along with others at Wat Xieng Thong, were created in the
mid-1950s to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the historic Buddha's passing into nir-
vana. On display in this room are rare articles of royal regalia: swords with hilts and scab-
bards of hammered silver and gold, an elaborately decorated fly-whisk and even the king's
own howdah (elephant saddle). Also on show is a cache of small crystal, silver and bronze
Buddha images taken from the inner chamber of the “watermelon stupa” at Wat Visoun .
Somehow these treasures escaped the plundering gangs of “Black Flag” Chinese who, led
by a White Tai warlord, sacked Luang Prabang in 1887. The stupa was destroyed, rebuilt in
1898, but collapsed in 1914. It was then that the Buddhas were discovered inside.
The royal library
Leaving the Throne Hall via the door on the right, you come to the rather ill-stocked royal
library , which includes a set of the Jataka presented by the King of Thailand. One cabinet
contains the official archives of the Ming and Qing dynasties, a gift from China during the
Cultural Revolution. The corridors that surround the rooms at the rear are decorated with six-
teen pictures that illustrate the legend of the Ten Wishes of Prince Wetsantara, considered an
important epic by Lao Buddhists.
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